This week's Community Column is written by Ross Greer, Scottish Green MSP for the West Scotland region.

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Tough times call for people to come together.

Health and care workers and many others have shown unrelenting commitment to helping the ill and vulnerable, and vast networks of volunteers have been quick to organise support for their isolated and at-risk neighbours.

Staying home and social distancing are challenging, but the vast majority of people have done a fantastic job keeping each other safe.

At Parliament we’ve reduced meetings to the essential, like passing emergency coronavirus legislation. But that doesn’t mean it’s a quiet time for MSPs – or MPs and councillors.

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My colleagues and I have been hard at work supporting our constituents. We’ve been fighting landlords attempting to evict tenants, pushing for those who normally receive free school meals to continue being supported, taking on employers putting their staff in dangerous situations, and plenty more.

The financial insecurity facing people and businesses right now is immense. Many have suddenly lost their income entirely. If ever there wass a time for Government to provide a comprehensive security net, it’s now.

The Scottish and UK governments have delivered a range of support, most notably the 80 per cent pay scheme for furloughed workers and substantial grants to businesses. But too many people are still falling through the cracks though, such as those who became self-employed in the last year.

Greens have long called for a universal basic income (UBI), where every person is given a standard monthly payment of enough to live on.

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Outside of a pandemic it has big advantages, but right now UBI is essential to ensure thousands of people aren’t in crisis. Spain’s government is delivering a UBI as soon as possible, which they’ll maintain after this crisis is over.

A UBI will ensure make our whole society more resilient, ensuring that nobody is left behind during crises.

In better times it will eliminate the huge cost and administrative waste in our social security system, reducing inequality between rich and poor, freeing people to do productive things with their life.

There is no ‘back to normal’ after Covid-19. We need to build new systems to meet new challenges.

READ MORE: Catch up with all the latest Helensburgh and Lomond news headlines here